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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29058951">Slacking Off</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaseekaDarkblade/pseuds/JaseekaDarkblade'>JaseekaDarkblade</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Things Will Get Better [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Baldi's Basics (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>1st Prize Can Do No Wrong, 1st Prize Is Amazing, 1st Prize Is Amazing And Pure, 1st Prize Is Not Broken Because I Love This Character, 1st Prize Is Pure, A little, Abusive Mom, Aftercare, And It Actually Gets Used, Angry Baldi, Arguing, Art, Arts Is A Sweetheart, Baldi Is Tired Of Protagonist's Shit, Beans (Baldi's Basics) Is 9, Beans Is An Asshole, Being a Brat, Best Friends, Bittersweet Ending, Bully Is An Asshole, Bullying, But Has A Soft Heart, But She Never Deals With Protagonist In This Fic, Caught, Chances, Child Neglect, Childhood Friends, Classes, Cloudy Copter Is Baldi's Pet, Cloudy Is A Sweetheart, Co-Parenting, Co-workers, Corporal Punishment, Crying, Disappointed Baldi, Disappointment, Discipline, Don't Mess With Mrs. Pomp, Elementary School, English, Even Baldi Says So, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, For the most part, Friend Is An Asshole, Friendship, Gen, Giving Up, Good Parent Baldi, Gotta Sweep Being Gotta Sweep, Gotta Sweep Is More Like The Fun Uncle, Gotta Sweep Is Strange, Hand Spanking, Happens Once In This Story, Help, Hugs, I know, If This Fic Was A Standalone, Janitor - Freeform, Lazy - Freeform, Luckily, Male Friend, Male Friendship, Male Protagonist, Male-Female Friendship, Math, Minor Principal/Baldi, More Often, Mother-Son Relationship, Mrs. Pomp Actually Uses An Implement, Neglect, Neglectful Mother, Non-Consensual Spanking, Non-Sexual Spanking, Over the Knee, POV Protagonist (Baldi's Basics), Paddle, Paddle Is There For Intimidation, Parent Baldi, Parent Gotta Sweep, Parent Mrs. Pomp, Parent Principal, Parenthood, Playtime (Baldi's Basics) Is 8, Principal And Playtime Are Family, Protagonist (Baldi's Basics) Is 10, Protagonist Is A Brat, Protagonist Sadly Goes Back Home, Protective Baldi, Protective Principal, Ruler, Ruler Is There For Intimidation, Rules, Running Away, School Drama, Science, Self-Doubt, Serious, Sibling Playtime, Slacking Off, Some Humor, Spanking, Special education, Strict, Strict Baldi, Strict Mrs. Pomp, Strict Principal, Teacher-Student Relationship, Teachers, Temper Tantrums, The Few Times Mom Comes Home, The Mom Doesn't Physically Abuse Protagonist Too Often, There Will Still Be A Chase, Uncle Gotta Sweep, Verbal Abuse, Well - Freeform, Which It Isn't, Worried Baldi, and i said so, at least, fatherless - Freeform, for a very good reason, for now, i guess, it's crazy, lol, mostly - Freeform, not really - Freeform, only for a bit, only sometimes, special needs, struggling in school</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:54:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,895</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29058951</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaseekaDarkblade/pseuds/JaseekaDarkblade</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Protagonist wishes he was better at Maths Class. He used to work so hard on the subject before, but now he has been giving up. Baldi has come to realize it after a while and tries to talk with Protagonist to resolve the child's internal conflict. Principal even offers some advice and usually the guy only cares about running(lol) the halls and finding culprits to bring them to detention.</p><p>Only... it didn't go as either of them planned.</p><p>Yes, I know. Baldi is a lot nicer and more fair than usual. The reason why Baldi steps up to help Protagonist is because the kid's father hasn't been in his life and his mom has been busy and avoiding her child lately.</p><p>There will be spanking in this. Surprisingly not by the ruler. Just a heads up.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Baldi &amp; Protagonist (Baldi's Basics), Principal of the Thing &amp; Protagonist (Baldi's Basics), Protagonist &amp; Friend (Baldi's Basics)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Things Will Get Better [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137275</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Introduction</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Warning: There will be spanking in this. If you don't like, don't read.</p><p>During the story, I'm just going to call Protagonist "Player" for short. It'll be easier and more convenient that way.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Player has been slacking off again. He used to be decent at math, but something about this new Maths subject he's been taking has really been hard on him these past few months. By hard, he means... he's been maybe... a bit "lazy" these past few months. Sometimes, he really expects his Maths teacher, Mr. Baldi, to stand up to his laziness and give him his well deserved punishment. But so far, Baldi had only given the boy a couple warnings here and there. Nothing else. Player realizes that maybe Baldi just has a soft spot for a couple students. He thought Baldi only felt that way about Arts and Crafters and Playtime.</p><p>Boy, has he been wrong about <em>many</em> things.</p><p>Player gets up from bed. He is kind of not looking forward to going to Here School, even though it's a Friday and he loves Fridays. He has a sinking feeling about today. He feels like something won't go right. He shakes his head and avoids his deeper thoughts as he proceeds to the kitchen out of his bedroom. Player has to find something to eat on his own almost everyday. His mother is always on business trips, purposefully trying to avoid having to take care of her child at all costs. She has never cared about him. Player always thinks that bitterly to himself as he gets ready for Elementary school in the morning. He showers, brush his teeth, combs his hair, collects his backpack, then leave his house to wait for the bus.</p><p>The child waits anxiously for the last few weeks of school to start once he enters the bus. There is only a few other kids in the bus he goes on. Luckily, Bully takes a different bus, so Player never has to see him during his bus rides. Only Playtime and Friend go on the bus he's in. After one bus stop for another kid, Friend goes on and sits next to Player. Playtime is across from them. She always hates bus rides the most because she doesn't have the freedom to move about and play with her jump rope. Friend always rolls his eyes when the two boys hear her hushed complaints.</p><p>She tears up everytime he does. Player always wants to smack him for it.</p><p>There is two other bus stops, and then they finally make it to Here School. Player walks off the bus beside Friend as Playtime and a couple other kids follow behind. Friend always wants to come off first, so he and Player always sit in the front seat. Friend always wants to feel important that way, like how he always wants to get to class first. He has always been a perfectionist. Player guesses he can be like that too, just not to that extent, of course. It is the same for Playtime. She cares about passing her classes, but she's not a perfectionist either. It could be because the Principal Of The Thing is her father, so she's given a bit more chances to succeed. Maybe Friend is jealous about that fact. Who knows?</p><p>As Friend is bragging about how he'll easily pass all of his classes before their Elementary School graduation comes about, Player looks down at his usual schedule of the day for Mondays. Science, English, History, Maths, then Music. Gotta Sweep, as the students call the broom Mr. Sweepers, teaches the extra classes which are Music, Gym, Cooking, Health, and Art. He's way more of a Janitor after school and before school. Principal teaches both Science and History. 4th and 5th graders go to the same classes together. So, Beans goes right along with their group, since he's a 4th grader. Playtime doesn't because she's a 3rd grader. Mrs. Pomp teaches English and, of course, Mr. Baldimore teaches Math. Everyone calls him Mr. Baldi for short.</p><p>To this day, even though he's the oldest kid at the school being 11 years old and in 5th grade, Bully still makes fun of Mr. Baldi's name. Bully calls him Baldo or Baldman. Everytime that happens, Baldi just sends the spoiled kid to Detention. Principal deals with kids who won't behave then. They have to go to a corner while he's teaching either History or Science. It's very humiliating for every kid except for Bully because he knows that all kids fear him. So in a way, the punishment doesn't really work too well for him. He will still be able to bully just as well as last time without a single kid wanting to fight back. He terrorizes the 1st and 2nd graders the most. He shouts at them as they scream and run away. He almost never steals from them though, since they have little or nothing of interest to him. He mostly steals from 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.</p><p>As Player is walking to Science amongst the 4th and 5th graders, Friend is hoping that he will pass Science just as well as the other classes. Science is his weakness whereas that kind of class is the one Player is the strongest at. Player has to help him on some parts to even be able to pass some tests. Player and Friend take seats beside each other at the front as 18 other students take seats all around them both. Principal enters the class and sets up everything to the way he likes it. He pretty much teaches the lesson in his office which is slightly smaller than a typical class, but it suffices. There are 10 kids in 5th grade, 10 in 4th, 10 in 3rd, 10 in 2nd, and 10 in 1st grade. Overall, there are 50 students who have to go to Here School for special needs. They can't go to the other official school that's bigger and has more than 200 students and 15 teachers inside. It's only a few miles away from Here School.</p><p>Principal plants his butt on his office chair and starts the class. "Hello, Here School students. How have you all been during your own year of school? Has it been a major change for all of you?" All kids nod as Principal adds, "Wow. I cannot believe it's already almost time for Summer Vacation. Only a few weeks left! Time sure does fly." The kids act a little excited as Principal gets up from the chair and starts writing Science problems on the chalk board with white chalk:</p><p>Water- ?</p><p>Oil- ?</p><p>Iron- ?</p><p>"Alright!" Principal begins after he finishes writing down on the chalkboard. "Now, do any of you remember the periodic table elemental terms for these guys here? No?" The class remains silent until Friend raises his hand. Bully rolls his eyes and Principal keeps a watchful eye over him. The adult man chooses Friend.</p><p>"Water is H²O, Oil is CH⁸18, and Iron is Fe."</p><p>"Good job, Friend." Principal smiles. He doesn't smile too often. But when he does, you know you've done something right. "See? You can do it if you work hard enough."</p><p>Principal writes more of those problems on the board as Player begins to deeply worry about English and Math classes he's truly falling behind in. Principal always has classes tolerable enough for him. It certainly helps that he already loves one of the subjects he teaches. Yes, he's a big nerd about Science and he's proud of it. Anyways, English isn't his worst class. It is a pretty simple concept considering it's the language he uses every single day. But the way it's being taught to him... he could never explain it. Maybe it's Mrs. Pomp who makes it a bit harder than it really is. She can be very rough. If you cross her too many times, then she may bend you over her desk and take a paddle to your behind. That has happened to Bully more times than Player can count on all the fingers of his hands. That has only happened to his friend twice. Luckily, Mrs. Pomp never had a reason to punish him the same way. The most she ever did to Player was send him to the corner once when he and Friend wouldn't stop talking to each other in whispery tones. He never got paddled, neither did she ever think of having to do so to him. For that, he is grateful. And very lucky.</p><p>He sadly can't say the same about his experience with Mr. Baldi, though. A little while ago when Player was just starting out as a 4th grader, he was having a bad day. Anything could've made him snap. Maybe even Principal. Playtime was skipping and jump roping in the halls like always. As a Principal's daughter, she is allowed to do almost anything without too much consequence. Surprisingly, that doesn't make her too spoiled. At least, not spoiled like Bully is. She's more of a ditz than anything. She always seems happy, except when she has to go on the bus. Anyways, Player unfortunately bumped into her in the halls as he was trying to get to class. He was about to be late getting to Mr. Sweepers's class. Luckily, that man is one of the most chilled people Player has ever met in his entire life. He's one of the adults who's changed the meaning in the word adult. Playtime begged for him to play with her. Of course, something snapped inside of him. Player shoved her against one of the lockers and was tempted to backhand her like how his mother did to him once in a while. Of course, Mr. Baldi witnessed the whole scene happen with a white-knuckled hand gripping his empty coffee cup. Playtime was sobbing by the time Player watched Baldi strode towards him with full determination to resolve the conflict. Baldi frowned with disappointment as he seized Player's wrist and told Playtime that she could tell Principal what happened to her. She nodded and scrambled away as she was still sobbing slightly. The Maths teacher led Player to his classroom and he peaked his head into the room and told all his 1st grade students to wait in the lunchroom. Luckily, he didn't hint to them why he needed them to do so. He just wanted and needed them to. Unlike Mrs. Pomp who had no fear punishing students in front of their class, Baldi never wanted to do that. Baldi always said he had his fair share of humiliating experiences as a child, so he never went that far with his punishments... except for corner time. You really can't avoid something like that. It is a simple form of discipline anyways. You just have to stand there. At least, for the most part, you aren't forced to wear a Dunce Cap to add onto the experience at Here School. Once the kids left, Baldi and the nervous 4th grade boy entered the now empty classroom. Baldi placed his cup on his desk, then let go of Player's wrist as he carried his desk chair and placed it down onto the floor in the spaciest part of the classroom. It is an armless chair just like the others in the schoolhouse, so that made punishments like this easier to dish out when necessary. Baldi seized Player's wrist one last time and he sat down on his chair. He pulled the boy, who was about to cry, over his lap, then it began. That's when his day got worse and then better. Player sobbed so much even though he was only given 15 swats from Baldi's flat palm. The child wanted so badly to shrink in a hole and to never be seen again. Surprisingly, it wasn't the spanking that made him feel that way. It was the guilt. He was hurting in his heart for how he treated Playtime. He treated her like garbage only because he was having a bad day. Once Baldi was done, he sat up the crying child and gave him a few pats on the shoulder. Baldi asked him why he did such a thing to the poor girl. Player stammered out that he was having a horrible day. Baldi asked him how.</p><p>That was the first time when Player told someone at least some of the truth about his earlier childhood.</p><p>Baldi's worrying demeanor in an odd way made Player's day a bit better. But for sure, going to Mr. Sweepers's class a bit late after his punishment also made his day better too. Mr. Sweepers is always cool. His bottom didn't even sting that much when he sat on his usual seat beside Friend. Friend asked him where he was. Player lied to him, of course. The now happy and relaxed boy told his friend that he got lost in the halls. Of course, Friend didn't believe him one bit, but for once he didn't pry for specifics.</p><p>Since then, Baldi has never been too strict with him ever again, just like how he treats Arts and Playtime. Player is still shocked that Baldi, or any adult for that matter, is treating him with such fairness and patience... it almost made him feel like he was being tricked at some point. But of course, that never ends up being the case. All adults in the schoolhouse are starting to care about him and his odd and sudden behavior. He even has to admit that they're starting to feel like a family he never had.</p><p>He still promises himself to this day that he will never let his inner turmoil spread to others and cause them pain. Even if some of them may deserve it.</p><p>The bell rings and Principal tells every student to have a fantastic day, even though he will see them again for History class. Player's next class is English with Mrs. Pomp. Oh boy. Here we go. She will definitely have a talk with him about how he's falling behind in her class. God only hopes she understands his struggle at home and she gives him the benefit of the doubt. Even with those nice thoughts swarming through his head, he seriously doubts she will. After all, he has been stalling with her class and Baldi's class for the past few months. Only because he selfishly believes he will graduate either way. He is a 5th grader, so he thinks they will let him pass so they can be done with him or something like that. He knows they care for him more than that, but that's how he always had to feel about his parents. He is accustomed to feeling that way. He can't help it. It's the way he sees adults on how he thinks they see him. A little nuisance is what he believes he is to them.</p><p>Oh boy, has he been wrong about <em>everything?</em></p><p>He supposes so.</p><p>Player sits down close to the back of the class next to Friend like every other time as other students find their same seats too. Player has never been confident on sitting in the front near his teachers during English and Maths classes. Mr. Baldi and Mrs. Pomp are teachers every kid, except for Bully, never dare to mess with. Player and Friend feel way more confident and comfortable sitting in the front with Mr. Sweepers's extra classes and Principal's classes, even though Friend sucks with Science.</p><p>Mrs. Pomp purses her red lipstick lips as she paces towards the chalkboard to write a question for her students. Bully yawns, yet he writes down an answer anyways. He sits behind Player and Friend during every class. He only tends to avoid them during Mrs. Pomp's class most of the time. Even he has a little limit on what he wants to do during her teaching lessons. He could even be possibly... a little scared of Mrs. Pomp, just like every other student at Here School. No one could blame him, though. There is just something extra about her that makes her more intimidating than even Principal and Baldi. Arts sits in the corner of every single class of his and minds everyone's business. He doodles when there's no lessons happening. He usually does so when he quickly finishes a worksheet almost to near perfection. That is the main reason why all teachers love him. He doesn't fool around until he makes sure he is completely done with all of his work.</p><p>... Then there's Beans who constantly wants to spit gum at everyone. Only because he keeps on believing he will make the perfect bubble if he tries hard enough.</p><p>... He never will, by the way.</p><p>"Welcome back to English, my dear students!" Mrs. Pomp beams as she finishes with the question on the board. "How are you all doing today?"</p><p>"Doing great, Mrs. Pomp!" A kid answers.</p><p>"Good!" She picks up a book and slaps it onto the board right next to the question. The sudden sound makes everyone jump. "Now, can anyone remember how to find out the best tricks on writing a great poem?"</p><p>She taps one of her red high heels as she waits for an answer. Player feels like she's acting a little off today. It is almost like she wants her class to end. Indeed, there is a feeling of unease in the class's atmosphere.</p><p>"Know what you are going to write down before you start and how you'll write it." Friend begins to explain hesitantly. "Once you get the hang of that, just let your writing flow and fix the mistakes later."</p><p>"Exactly." Mrs. Pomp seems to be feeling slightly better, but she still looks stiff as she erases the question and adds one more. "Now, what kind of poem do any of you like writing? Drama? Adventure? Perhaps freeform?"</p><p>That is when Player's mind begins to wander off. He worries about having to face Baldi since Mrs. Pomp doesn't seem like she will do anything about his lazy behavior. If Mrs. Pomp isn't doing anything about it, then surely Baldi will. He is scared of what may happen next. He kind of wants to skip Baldi's class. Player knows it wouldn't be smart of him to skip Mrs. Pomp's class because that is her biggest pet peeve, but it doesn't bother Baldi as much as when kids purposely get math problems wrong to spite him or when they don't care, physically attack each other, or nonstop disobeying/distracting Baldi during his Maths lessons.</p><p>Player breaks out of his mind when Mrs. Pomp slaps her book onto his desk. Her eyes pierce into his as he gulps. Friend looks shocked that Player has been acting so strange. Mrs. Pomp looks like she is one step away from giving Player a paddling.</p><p>"I asked you a question, Player." Mrs. Pomp looks disappointed. She sighs. "If you're not interested in my class right now, then maybe you should stay after for today." She also seems like she doesn't want to resort to paddling him in front of the whole class because she never had to do it to him before. Everyone's breaths are holding in as they wait for Player to answer her back.</p><p>"O-Okay." Player nods.</p><p>"Okay what?" Mrs. Pomp raises an eyebrow. She couldn't believe the disrespect coming from Player. He usually is very respectable to other people.</p><p>"I will st-stay after. My mom won't be home too soon, anyway. Business trip and all that."</p><p>"Good. Please focus if you can for the rest of class. Don't test me." She warns as she transitions back to teaching her lesson.</p><p>Eventually, it gets to the end of English and Mrs. Pomp announces that there will be one more big reading project. Partially poem related. Everyone groans except for Arts and one other kid. She tells everyone to find a partner. Everyone disperses and finds someone they will immediately have a liking to work with. In less than a minute, everyone finds their perfect partner, even Bully. Bully and Beans decide to work together. Funny. The perfect trouble duo. Player eventually notices Arts off in the corner of the classroom. He looks like he's having the worst day of his life. He is not the type to want to find a partner to work with. But, Player has no other choice. With multiple poems having to be combined into a full story, he will have to find someone with amazing writing skills. Arts is one of them, luckily. He just hopes it will be easy to reason with Arts.</p><p>Player stands in front of Arts, then asks, "A-Arts? Would you mind if I became partners with you on this project?"</p><p>Arts looks at the floor for a moment, then hesitant sock puppet makes eye contact with him. "I-I suppose I have no other choice. Do I?" Arts looks at the floor again. "O-Okay. I can be partners with you. The project seems easy enough, so we'll be able to work decently on this project in no time." Arts stands up with a bit of confidence.</p><p>The bell rings.</p><p>"Alright, dear children! Have a great rest of the day! Player, do not forget about afterschool."</p><p>"Yes, Mrs. Pomp." Player blushes a little as he and Friend walk out of there to the lunchroom with all other grades of kids. Arts walks behind them, losing that bit of confidence and slouching over once again.</p><p>"Geez. What's been happening to you today, Play?" Friend wonders as they sit at a bench and Arts awkwardly sits at the end a few feet away from Player.</p><p>"I don't know." Player mutters. He doesn't want to deal with his odd attitude today, so he eats in silence with his friend as everyone else chatters with each other.</p><p>*****</p><p>Player, Friend, and the same 18 students enter into Principal's office once again for History class. The lessons are already written on the board as Principal already looks like he is tired and bored out of his mind.</p><p>"Alright, students." He mutters as the whole room becomes silent. "Just write answers to these questions on your papers so I can see if you all remember your history." So, all kids do just that.</p><p>Except for Player. He still is suffering with anxiety about facing Baldi and staying after with Mrs. Pomp. It makes his stomach churn. Friend glances at Player with worry, but continues on with what he's supposed to do. Player doesn't complain. If he was Friend, he didn't know what he'd do for himself.</p><p>Principal catches Player not focusing on the lesson in his class. He keeps in mind that he'll have to have a serious talk with Player about him falling behind in classes and not focusing in most others. He continues on teaching as if he doesn't realize the obvious departure of focus from Player.</p><p>Soon, the bell rings. Principal usually doesn't send out any homework or huge projects during the last month of school. He considers that to be needlessly tedious. So, there is only one big project they have to worry about completing.</p><p>Before Player could leave the office with Friend, Principal orders for him to stay for a few moments. Player thinks this must be his most unluckiest day. What? Will Mr. Sweepers even have to keep him to have some talk with him too? Player hopes he never gets to that point. It's mostly hard to anger or annoy Gotta Sweep. The boy stands before Principal.</p><p>Principal sits down on his office chair, and asks, "Player? Are you okay? I haven't seen you act like this in a long time."</p><p>"I'm fine." Player lies with his posture stiff.</p><p>Principal squints a little. "You're falling behind. It's never happened to this extent before. Are you sure it's nothing serious?"</p><p>"... I have become a little lazy. That's all."</p><p>"You do realize that Mrs. Pomp and Mr. Baldi are <em>this close</em>," Principal shows a tiny space between his thumb and index. "to giving physical discipline if you don't stand up for your mistakes. Right?"</p><p>"I-I figured as such." Player stammers as he twiddles his thumbs and looks at the floor in shame. "I... guess I'm giving up, is all."</p><p>"Why? Why are giving up when you're already so close to graduating? What is the reason for this?"</p><p>Player's lip starts trembling. "I-I don't want to go to Mr. Baldi's class, Principal!" Player whines.</p><p>Principal's face darkens a little bit. "Why? Did he do something wrong?"</p><p>"No, of course not!" Player gasps. "I'm just falling behind so much that... th-that you all m-must hate me!" He begins to sob into his hands.</p><p>Principal stands up from his chair and kneels in front of Player. He lays a hand on the boy's shaky shoulder. "Player. Look at me." Player's soaked and reddened eyes stare at the stern Principal. "I know it is hard to face your mistakes and problems head-on, but you will have to either way to pass and graduate. You cannot let these few months of doing absolutely nothing stop you from moving onto Middle School. Mrs. Pomp has planned to give you a big packet full of worksheets you haven't passed in to her at all. You only have a few weeks left. And you have that project to do with your partner. Even with all of that, I still believe you can pull through. You are a very smart boy, Player. You can make it and you'll be able to graduate in no time. Okay?" Principal pats the boy's quivering shoulder. Player hugs Principal for a few moments, then lets go.</p><p>"O-Okay, Mr. Principal." Player sniffs and runs his arm on his face. "I can do this."</p><p>"That's the spirit." Principal beams for only a second. "It's time for you to get to Maths class. Tell Mr. Baldi I held you here for an important conversation. Understood?"</p><p>"Yes, sir. I understand." Player nods as the redness is beginning to disappear from his drying eyes.</p><p>"We all care for you, Player. Baldi especially does care about you. Don't forget that."</p><p>Principal lets Player out of his office as kids start to enter in his office for History class.</p><p>The bell rings right when Player enters Baldi's classroom. He slides onto a seat beside Friend in the back as Baldi finishes writing on the chalkboard. Baldi never notices or doesn't seem to care as he starts class quickly.</p><p>"Okay, students!" Baldi seems to be in a good mood which eases Player's tension. "Solve all these Maths problems on a spare sheet of paper. If some problems are done wrong, we all will solve those together. If you've done all of them wrong by accident, don't fret. We will help each other. But if you do all of them wrong on purpose... well, you're on your own by then. If you don't care about the work that's in front of you, then it's your choice whether you want to succeed or not. Alright, go for it!"</p><p>Player feels as if that explanation was longer than Baldi would usually do it on a good day for him, but the Maths teacher still acts and seems happy and relaxed. So, maybe it's all in his imagination.</p><p>The boy looks at the problems on the board and actually feels obligated enough to solve them.</p><p>1.) 1+1= ?</p><p>2.) 3×2= ?</p><p>3.) (3×7)²= ?</p><p>4.) 5/6 - 3/6= ?</p><p>5.) 0÷0= ?</p><p>Player writes 2, 6, 441, 2/6, and 0 as his definite answers. Baldi walks around the class and checks everyone's papers to see who has the most correct answers of all. Baldi confirms once he's done, "It looks like 4 correct answers are what half of you got. The 5th problem is very difficult, indeed." Baldi walks to the board and writes undefined next to the last problem. "You can't take away nothing with nothing. That makes no sense. So, for that fact, it is considered a problem to be undefined for good."</p><p>All the kids feel enlightened with a great truth they never thought possible.</p><p>The bell already rings.</p><p>"None of you will get homework nor projects during the last month of school. Hope you all have a good day! Player," Player's stomach begins to sink. "stay here for a couple moments. I need to tell you something." Friend looks at Player like he's gone crazy and leaves with the other kids.</p><p>"Player. Sit at your desk." Baldi sighs as his happy demeanor goes away and gets replaced with disappointment and tiredness. The Maths teacher stands next to Player. "You will need to stay after school with me and Mrs. Pomp. You're slacking off with our classes will not be tolerated any longer. That's all I have to say. Go to your last class. I need to rethink how I'm going to deal with this. I'm sure Mrs. Pomp has been too. I've told her that you'll stay after with her first, then me. Understood?" Player nods fervently. "Good. I'm sure you want to see Mr. Sweep. Don't worry. We're here to help. But, if you show that you're not willing to, then we may have to go to physical discipline." Player's face pales and nods again. "Have a good day."</p><p>The boy shakily moves to the next class, never feeling so scared about staying after before in his entire life.</p><p>He prays he'll make it to the end of the hectic day... eventually.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Finally Facing The Consequences</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning: There will be a spanking scene in this chapter. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>All the kids in 4th grade and 5th grade are waiting for Mr. Sweepers's class to start as Player is almost making it there. He rushes through the hall, almost out of breath. Just around the corner is Mr. Sweepers's classroom. It sounds like he is preparing to set up everything for his Music class. Player gulps a little as he lays his hand on the doorknob for a couple seconds to regain himself, then he enters the room. The class becomes silent for only a few moments, then it bustles with busy activity again. Friend and Arts are the only students who keep their eyes on Player as he takes his seat beside Friend.</p><p>"Let me guess..." Player glances nervously at Friend as Arts goes back to doodling in his notebook only a few desks away from Player. "You got lost in the halls again?"</p><p>"I wish." Player chuckles. "No. I have to stay after with Mrs. Pomp and Mr. Baldi. I was taking my time coming here because I am so nervous about staying afterschool."</p><p>"Come on." Friend rolls his eyes. "It's seriously not that bad. I had to do that a lot of times last year. I'm still here now. At least you don't receive constant detentions. That can be pretty annoying after a while."</p><p>"Just don't run in the halls, Friend." Player says with an amused smile. "It's all you have to do."</p><p>"Well, it sucks that Mr. Principal doesn't allow us kids to keep ourselves in shape."</p><p>"That's what we have recess for, dumbo." Player slaps Friend's shoulder and laughs his head off. Friend rolls his eyes once more.</p><p>"Whatever you say, nerd." Friend grins and shakes his head.</p><p>"HELLO, CLASS!" Mr. Sweepers begins after the bell rings. "WELCOME TO MY MUSIC LESSON. TODAY, WE WILL BE LEARNING HOW TO PLAY THE DRUMS."</p><p>"Again?" Friend slumps with disappointment. Bully does the same since that is his least favorite instrument.</p><p>"Come on! That's the best instrument ever." Player whispers.</p><p>"I'd much prefer guitar." Friend grumbles.</p><p>"ALRIGHT, LET'S GET STARTED! COLLECT SOME OF YOUR OWN DRUMS FROM THIS BOX AND WE'LL BEGIN THE LESSON FROM THERE." Mr. Sweepers points his broomstick towards the box.</p><p>Some students grumble as most are excited. Bully is the last to collect the last 2.</p><p>"PICK UP THE DRUMSTICKS I LEFT FOR YOU ON YOUR DESKS." Player grabs 2 and Friend takes the other pair. "HERE WE GO! LOOKS LIKE IT'S DRUMMING TIIIME!" Everyone begins to play their drums. Player creates his own addicting beat as he slaps his foot on the floor along with the rhythm. Friend does a sloppy job with his drum set. He so desperately wants to throw the set on the wall that it's not even funny. Bully instead wants to drum the sticks on someone's head. Arts surprisingly does a decent job at it, but not as good as Player. Beans would be playing the drums... but he accidentally sticks one of his drumsticks to a drum with his gum. He struggles with that as everyone else enjoys their own beats.</p><p>"YEEES!" Mr. Sweepers beats his broomstick on his real, adult-sized set of drums with near perfection. "GOTTA DRUM, DRUM, DRUUUM, KIDS! LET'S MAKE SOME NOISE!"</p><p>"How does a broom do this!" Friend is exasperated as Player struggles with trying not to laugh. "He makes me look stupid!"</p><p>What Friend tends to forget is how polite and understanding Mr. Sweepers can really be. "EVERYONE STOP DRUMMING." All kids drop their sticks on their desks. "FRIEND, PLAY AFTER ME. WATCH HOW IT'S DONE." Friend picks up his sticks. Mr. Sweepers makes a move. Friend copies. Mr. Sweepers does a couple more. Friend copies as well as the first time. "NOW LET'S SEE IF SPEED IS YOUR FRIEND, FRIEND." Mr. Sweepers goes ham all over his drums. Friend does too and he succeeds! Friend shows the biggest smile ever. "SEE? YOU CAN DO IT IF YOU TRY. ALRIGHT, STUDENTS. GOTTA DRUM DRUM DRUM!" Everyone goes back to practicing. </p><p>Time flies by in an instant. The bell rings once more for the day. All kids put away the drumsticks and small drums back in the box. Most kids already leave as Friend shoots Player a pity glance, then he follows the others out of the classroom. Mr. Sweepers is worried when he sees that Player hasn't left the area yet. He sweeps over to the glum boy. "PLAYER? IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT?"</p><p>"Y-Yeah..." Player stammers.</p><p>"WHAT ARE YOU SO NERVOUS ABOUT?" Mr. Sweepers worries ever so much.</p><p>"I... have to stay after with Mrs. Pomp and Mr. Baldi. I really don't want to. I want to go home." His bottom lip trembles at what may happen during afterschool.</p><p>"YOU MUST BE REALLY BEHIND. I HEARD THAT YOU HAVEN'T DOING TOO WELL IN YOUR ENGLISH AND MATHS CLASSES."</p><p>"I have avoided doing work in those classes for a few months now." Player sighs, mostly disappointed with himself.</p><p>"NO WORRIES." Mr. Sweepers assures. "MR. BALDI AND MRS. POMP MAY BE VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH YOU, BUT THEY DO CARE ABOUT YOU. THEY WILL TRY EVERYTHING IN THEIR POWER TO HELP YOU PASS SO YOU CAN GRADUATE. IT IS JUST A CASE OF 5TH GRADEITIS THAT YOU'RE GOING THROUGH. I BELIEVE YOU WILL SUCCEED. YOU WILL PULL THROUGH IN NO TIME, KIDDO."</p><p>Player smiles, feeling a bit better about staying after. "Thanks, Mr. Sweepers. I'll keep that in mind so I won't be tempted to run away from this problem."</p><p>"GOOD. HAVE AN AWESOME REST OF THE DAY, PLAYER!" Mr. Sweepers waves his broomstick back and forth as Player stands up and collects his backpack. The boy waves back and leaves into the hallways of doom. Principal is wandering around as usual. He proceeds towards Player. "I hope you are going where you need to be."</p><p>"Of course!" Player exclaims. "It will go great!"</p><p>"Hopefully there won't be too much trouble. For that, I'm hoping the same thing for you too." Principal pats Player on the shoulder, then continues on observing the halls.</p><p>The jittery child walks through the halls with purpose to face his consequences. Before he can get close to Mrs. Pomp's class, he hears a robotic voice behind him. "I'm cOmInG FoR yOu. ReAdY oR NoT, hErE I CoMe." Player gets shoved all the way down a hall. He struggles in the robot's hold, but nonetheless, he has to deal with what is transpiring. They smack against the wall. 1st Prize, the mascot of their school, does not let him go for any reason. "1st Prize!" Player whines. "Please let me go! This isn't the time to be hugging me!" The robot does not budge. "WiLl yOu MaRrY mE?" "No! I will not marry you! This is the millionth time I've had to say that! Just let me gooo! I need to get to detention!" Player pushes 1st Prize's hands off of his shoulders and dives to the side. "You can hug me after detention. Okay?" Player doesn't wait for the robot to answer as he runs to Mrs. Pomp's classroom. She is not one to be messed with when it comes to being late to class. No one messes with her about anything, to be honest. He hopes that he is not too late making it there.</p><p>Once Player enters the classroom, Mrs. Pomp is sitting at her desk. She watches him the whole time as he sits on one of the front seats for once. He glances at her, his nerves jumping like never before.</p><p>A heavy packet in hand, Mrs. Pomp stands from her chair and she proceeds over to him. She stops in front of him and places the packet of old English worksheets on the desk. She points at it. "This is what you'll be working on for the last few weeks in school, including the project with your partner. If none of this packet is complete by the last day of school, then I will have to take you in for a paddling AND you will not be passing 5th grade. You will not be able to graduate. This is your final chance at redeeming yourself. Understood?"</p><p>"Y-Yes, Mrs. Pomp. I promise that I will complete it to the best of my ability." Player promises even though he really doesn't want to. He feels like it's not necessary and he doesn't believe that she wouldn't just let him graduate. He totally believes she would paddle him over her desk, but surely she wouldn't screw him over completely. Right?</p><p>Mrs. Pomp feels as if she didn't get through to him very well. However, she lets him off the hook... for now. "Good. I really do hope you take this into consideration. It would be unfortunate if you started caring about all of this on the last day. Right?"</p><p>"Right." Player nods and sighs.</p><p>"Okay. You can leave now."</p><p>"Wait... <em>really?</em>" Player is shocked as he stands up.</p><p>"Yes, Player." Mrs. Pomp smiles. "If nothing is complete on the last day, then I will be singing a different tune. I really want you to pass and graduate. Baldi wants you to too. Okay?"</p><p>"Okay." Player smiles back.</p><p>She ruffles his hair. "Alright. It's time for you to meet Mr. Baldi. Hopefully that one will be short as well."</p><p>"I hope so too." Player collects his backpack.</p><p>"Have a good rest of the day."</p><p>"You as well, Mrs. Pomp."</p><p>*****</p><p>Player twists his fingers as he nears Mr. Baldi's classroom. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, rests his hand on the doorknob, then slowly opens the door.</p><p>Baldi doesn't look up from his grading. Cloudy Copter is there hovering beside his busy owner. Piles of papers from 4 different classes. "Hello, Player." He says with a neutral voice while still not glancing at the hesitant boy. "Choose any seat in the front row. We'll start the lessons soon."</p><p>Player can only nod as he slightly stumbles towards the seat closest to the exit of the classroom door. He feels so nervous and tired. He observes the area even though he's already done that thousands of times before. With Player twiddling his thumbs, Baldi is already done grading a whole stack of papers. The Maths teacher places the pen aside, then stands and goes to the chalk board. He begins to write down some problems.</p><p>1.) 7-8= ?</p><p>2.) 3×5= ?</p><p>3.) 1-4= ?</p><p>"Alright. Tell me the answers to these problems." Baldi says.</p><p>"Problem 1 is -1, Problem 2 is 15, and Problem 3 is -3." Player yawns towards the end.</p><p>Baldi raises an eyebrow. Either way, he is glad that Player got them right. "Great job! Maybe you'll keep up with my class in no time." Baldi feels a little happier, but is still concerned whether Player is willing to pass or not. "Alright. I will write another 3 problems. Let's see if these slightly more difficult ones will be easy for you as well." He erases the answered ones, then refills in new problems.</p><p>1.) 10+10= ?</p><p>2.) 108÷12= ?</p><p>3.) 3̷̣͓̞̙̝͉̈́̐́̈̋*̴̪̞̫̪̖͕͉̳͖͎̫̖̙̖̟͉̹̄̎̐̄̍͒̅̔̒̐͗̊̆͗̏̂͐͠5̷̧̛̛̱͔̯̲̮̙̝͈̫̙̠͔͍̔̏̐͌̈̓̑͊̎͂̒͌̾̅̇͊̏̔̊̚̚̕+̴̟̹̫͔̖̬̓͝+̵̨̡̲̻̙͖̻͍̟͕̖͍̝̘͈͍̂̔͐̋̋̂͊̒͐̂̌̌̌̄̄̑̄̃͛̌͗̚̕͜͝͠5̷̛̹̭̦͚͚͙͎̠̬̮͙̥̮̪͉̺̒͒̐̅̑͋̈́̾̊̏̆͠͝͠͝͝ͅ6̵̧̖̯͚͍̜̟̰̗̥̱̦̥̫̳͕̘̫͍̱̪̰̦͕̹̠̿̈́͜*̵̱̰̭̞̠͎͕͓̰͉͑̕*̶̨̨̧̧̭̺̪͈̮̦̱̞̳̜͚͇̘͙͕̟̞̼͖̪̀̔̚ͅ1̵̢̛̛̛͕̟̜̭̖̰̗͍̭̥͇̩̤̜̎̓̑̈͑̌̈͋̿̒̑̅̄̕͘ͅͅ2̵̱͎͚̻̭̤̽͆̎̾̊̔̏̏̎̽͆̃̒͑̒̍͊̓̚̕͠6̸͇͔̲̒̄̿͂̔̀7̸̡̛̻͍̗̟̐̒͌̔̽̑͊̓̇̍4̵̢͎̰͉̩̠̘͈͖͎̭̆̈́͐̒̂̌̒̈͌̎̅̓̾̊́̈́̓͗̔͛̔̏͠͝÷̴̧̘̯̝̟̘̮͔̾̔͊͆͝^̴̡̧̛̣͖̣͓͔͖͖̜̲̗̘̩̝͔͖̝̠̖̹̜̣̻͖͓̳̆̐͛̏̽̉̓͋̉̐͑̂̕͜͝$̸̨̧̛̜̗̖̲͚͕̈́̉͌̍̊̔̐̐̍3̷̗̼͉̟̲̠͎̘̱̮̍͆͂̎̊͆͆̃̓̈͑̕͘ͅ9̸̡̨̨̨̨̛͇̻͖̮̰̯͓̠̰̫̟̊̾̓̾̋̽̈́̌̓̇͌͜͝͠°̶̡̨̛͖̦͔̘̤̞̙͉̭̗̹̘̳̱̣̬͛͋͆͂͛͌̾̌͗̑̇̐̕ͅ¿̸̧̢̧̢͓̞̥̫͚̥̰̪̤̻̫͇͈̟̰̏͊͗̆̀̾̇̐̅̌̈́́̾̽͌͋̀͆́͌̚͠͝</p><p>Player rubs his eyes as he tries to focus on the Maths problems. He seems to be having a hard time with Problem 3 more than the other 2. He attempts to answer them either way. "Mr. Baldi, I think the answers are 20, 9, and... 3?"</p><p>"... Um, no? Problem 3 is wrong." Baldi is confused. Player seems to be doing well in his class, except for the slacking off part. Maybe he wrote it wrong?</p><p>"Well, at least you got the other 2 correct. Passing is what matters. It is a personal preference whether you want to be perfect or not. Here," Baldi erases the board even faster. Player is beginning to doubt himself. "I'll write down 3 more problems. If you get any of them wrong, then we can talk about what is confusing about them to you. Is that okay?"</p><p>"Y-Yes." Player mumbles. "Of course, Mr. Baldi."</p><p>"Good, good." Baldi smiles, but it is not a happy one. He is just as nervous as Player is now. The Maths teacher scribbles down another 3 problems.</p><p>1.) 9̵̡̢̳͓̥͓͎̯̟̯̬͍͉͉̭̥̝͉̻͚̿̃́͐̉̈̍̉̓̃̚͜͝3̵̧̙͍́̿͂̀̈́̐͑̊͐̓̆ͅ6̷̞͉̼̜̥̖̗̪̻̞͓̙̼̬̹̣̩̠̘̖̭͎͂̔̑͘5̴̟̺͍̻͎̪̮͂̆̍̔͐̕͝9̶̢̗̞̦̬̺̣̘͔̼͂̆̓̇͋͂͌͗̊͒͆̀͂̌͘ͅ2̸̧̧̢̘̯͕̖̱̭̯̒͛̊̽̓͆̈́̆̈́͊̋́̿͛̅̑̚͘͘͜͝͠͝ͅ*̷͎̼̞̣̈́̉̄͑̍͋̆̈́̿̕̚0̶̡̢̲̳̱̳̥͉̲͉̩̪̞̿̈́̃͊̈́͑̽7̷̨̧͖̝͎͍̻̘̹̯̺̺̙̥̳̫̲̠̍͐͐̊̏̚͜ͅ2̵̢̹͚̜̹̜͚̺͕͎͔̤̪̗͇̤͚͔̤͎́͒̓̊̚͜͝5̵̡̡̨͎̳̘͙͕̫̝̝̺͈͕͚͒͗͜7̶̡̛̼̪͓̦̂̌͒̒̿0̷̡̧̛̜̝̹͚̯͕̟͇̙͔̻̱̉͌̐͂̾́̊̄̑̈͐͊̂̑̊̋͊̊̕͘͜͝$̴͖̫̼͂̌͑̍̌̊̓̉̏͑̇͆̽̈̂́̿̓̄͛̚8̴̢͓̺̳͎͂̀̓̅͜͠ͅ3̶̨̏̓̈́̄̿̓͝͝7̸̞̲̮̤̺͈̉̌͊̔̈̔͆̉͌͋̎͛͗̋̓̈̈̅͜͠4̶̢̢͕͙̮͍̮̯̺̔͂̈́̊͆̊̈́̇̌̽°̴̧̮̮͓͚̭͎̼̼͎̳̤̬̉̒̔̄̓̓̎̇̔̉̽̎̊́͠4̵̢̗̗̥͕̤̰̫̣̪̮̩̯̥̯̝̐͌̍̌̀̇͌̈͋̈́̎̚͝7̷͙͓̼̦̠̲͎̪̂̽̔̉͌̈͐̔̈́̌̍̄̓͛̊̄̚̚͠5̶̢̰͎̗͔̬̙̟͕̮̟̰͌̅̓̈́͑̓̀̓̈́̆̕͝4̶̢̧̙̞̼͚̜͇̬̝͇̮͔̠̤̱͎͔̥͐̓̃̓͒͒͗̓͝ͅ9̶̨̢̢̨̛̻̤͙̘̤̙͔̣̻̣̪̰͇̲̜͎͈̆̈͆͐̎͑̒̎͆̓́͘͜£̸̧̧̛̛̥̳̰͙̐̉̓͐̏͋͗̎̄̓̈́̈͑̐̚ͅͅ</p><p>2.) 3̷̣͓̞̙̝͉̈́̐́̈̋*̴̪̞̫̪̖͕͉̳͖͎̫̖̙̖̟͉̹̄̎̐̄̍͒̅̔̒̐͗̊̆͗̏̂͐͠5̷̧̛̛̱͔̯̲̮̙̝͈̫̙̠͔͍̔̏̐͌̈̓̑͊̎͂̒͌̾̅̇͊̏̔̊̚̚̕+̴̟̹̫͔̖̬̓͝+̵̨̡̲̻̙͖̻͍̟͕̖͍̝̘͈͍̂̔͐̋̋̂͊̒͐̂̌̌̌̄̄̑̄̃͛̌͗̚̕͜͝͠5̷̛̹̭̦͚͚͙͎̠̬̮͙̥̮̪͉̺̒͒̐̅̑͋̈́̾̊̏̆͠͝͠͝͝ͅ6̵̧̖̯͚͍̜̟̰̗̥̱̦̥̫̳͕̘̫͍̱̪̰̦͕̹̠̿̈́͜*̵̱̰̭̞̠͎͕͓̰͉͑̕*̶̨̨̧̧̭̺̪͈̮̦̱̞̳̜͚͇̘͙͕̟̞̼͖̪̀̔̚ͅ1̵̢̛̛̛͕̟̜̭̖̰̗͍̭̥͇̩̤̜̎̓̑̈͑̌̈͋̿̒̑̅̄̕͘ͅͅ2̵̱͎͚̻̭̤̽͆̎̾̊̔̏̏̎̽͆̃̒͑̒̍͊̓̚̕͠6̸͇͔̲̒̄̿͂̔̀7̸̡̛̻͍̗̟̐̒͌̔̽̑͊̓̇̍4̵̢͎̰͉̩̠̘͈͖͎̭̆̈́͐̒̂̌̒̈͌̎̅̓̾̊́̈́̓͗̔͛̔̏͠͝÷̴̧̘̯̝̟̘̮͔̾̔͊͆͝^̴̡̧̛̣͖̣͓͔͖͖̜̲̗̘̩̝͔͖̝̠̖̹̜̣̻͖͓̳̆̐͛̏̽̉̓͋̉̐͑̂̕͜͝$̸̨̧̛̜̗̖̲͚͕̈́̉͌̍̊̔̐̐̍3̷̗̼͉̟̲̠͎̘̱̮̍͆͂̎̊͆͆̃̓̈͑̕͘ͅ9̸̡̨̨̨̨̛͇̻͖̮̰̯͓̠̰̫̟̊̾̓̾̋̽̈́̌̓̇͌͜͝͠°̶̡̨̛͖̦͔̘̤̞̙͉̭̗̹̘̳̱̣̬͛͋͆͂͛͌̾̌͗̑̇̐̕ͅ¿̸̧̢̧̢͓̞̥̫͚̥̰̪̤̻̫͇͈̟̰̏͊͗̆̀̾̇̐̅̌̈́́̾̽͌͋̀͆́͌̚͠͝</p><p>3.) 9̸̗͖͉̩͉̯̗͕̳͖̗̝̅͐͋̉̒͂͒̚7̶̥̩̜̟͓̮̗͍̌̃͝͠4̵̖͇̬͙̺͚͎̘̈́̾͋͒̉7̴̢̢̢̢͕͈̮̦͙̺̲̙̹̺̎̄ͅ3̵͓͎̮̖̲̟͈͈̳̞̬̻̊̊̈̈́̇̾̈̀̃9̵̡̨̞͍͕̝̭͇͛̃͋͌͠ͅ8̸̤͔̮̜̩̠͖̎̑̊͂́͆̿͛̆̈̔̅͘͝2̴͉͈̞̩̩̭̩̅̌ͅ^̴̧̡̡̜̙̘͉̠̼̃͌͋͆̉̚&amp;̶̨̢͈̯̥̗̞̲̦̜̘̝̱̻̎̐̓̈͗̒̇͜͝6̸͖̫͍͎̘̯̈́͆̔͌̏̾̄̏́̈́͐͘ͅ5̵̧̈̈́̊̈́͘ͅ9̶̢͇̮̞̗̘̏̈́̈́̂̎͑̊̌̉͝0̸̲̤̪͔̿̈́7̶̧̛̛̛͕̪͕͔͙̹͓̠̪̠̠̊̄̿͛̿̌̄͝ͅ2̶̡͔̺͎̱̞̤͖̗̤̞̳̃6̴̣̺̋̔4̶̬̗͈̳̭̬̓̄̽̏́̽̂́͌̈̌͋̽9̵̖̲̼̯̭͓̰̼̭̈́4̷̛͎̲̯͔͐͊̍͐̌̄́̿̀͝8̵̡̛̲̹̳̤̬̘̤̌̎̈̈́͆͛̎̊̂̆7̴͖̻̝̰͑̋6̶̧̹͔͈̹͍͋͛̋͑͗́̊̊̆̓̆̍͗2̶̙̣͌̏́̌̾͛̄̀̕8̷̞̹̲̒9̴̡̛͕̖͉͈͉̘͈̹̘̃͋͒͛͌͂̃̆̀͝4̶̧̺̗̭̤̟͚͔͈͗̃͆̈́7̴̧̮̯̗̮̘̙̘͙̞͇̤̖̊̎9̷̜͙̰̟̟̮̐̈́̕͝ͅ2̷̨̰͚̗͔̞͎̹̭͚̻̱̠̐̃̆͂͊̾̎̌̓̾̔̈̃͝8̷̡͚̯̟̯͉͇̳̳̓7̴͉̱̩̦̯͓̣̃̋̍̑̒̊̍͝4̵̬͍̙̰͍̱̲͇̯̣̰̌̂̀̏̈́̌͌͜͝7̷̠̠̃̍̑̏̋̈̑̆̍̿͗̚͝%̸̛͙̟̠͎͇͗̈͑͒̉̾̆̾$̵̞̗͕̇͐͘͝#̵̰̖̭̟̤́̈́̑̿̉̉ͅ9̶̢̢̟̯͓̬̹̝͇̽̒̄̽̎̓͗́͌͆̀̐̔͊͑3̸̡̡̱͚̯̗͎̤͛̽̋̔̏̾͜8̴͓͕͍͙̒̿̐͐̋͊͝7̵̡̩̳̣̭̩̳͖̦͓͉̰̋̋͐͠9̴̡̫̦̦̲͉̞̆2̸͓̉͆͋̍͆̑̓̚͝</p><p>"Oh god." Player whispers to himself as he feels like he's going to cry. Cloudy Copter whines at Player's reaction.</p><p>"Player? Is everything okay?" Baldi worries as he drops the chalk on its holder, his attention fully on the poor, stressed out student.</p><p>"Y-Yeah." Player rubs his eyes once more. "Just a little tired, is all."</p><p>"I'll allow you to compose yourself for a few moments. Do not worry. I am a little tired myself."</p><p>Player is not sure whether his tiredness is different from Baldi's or not.</p><p>"Are you okay, now?" Baldi lays a hand on Player's shoulder.</p><p>"Yes." Player inhales. "I am." He lets it all out. "Thank you, Mr. Baldi."</p><p>The Maths teacher simply smiles, rubs Player's shoulder comfortingly once more, then returns back to their lessons.</p><p>"Alright. Have you figured out the answers?"</p><p>"I-I think so..."</p><p>"Well, go for it."</p><p>Player nods. He squints at the board. Maybe the jumble is all from his twisted imagination. Sadly, they still look like the scribbles that are unreadable, let alone solvable. So, Player takes a shot in the dark.</p><p>"8, 56, and 100?" He looks nervously at Baldi.</p><p>Baldi frowns.</p><p>"Are you sure you're really okay, Player?"</p><p>"I-I-I don't know, Mr. Baldi."</p><p>"Have you gotten much sleep?"</p><p>"Of course!" Player exclaims with a little frustration, then he covers his mouth with wide, terrified eyes. Baldi frowns even further. Cloudy begins whining a bit louder.</p><p>"<em>Excuse me?</em>"</p><p>"M-Mr. Baldi-"</p><p>"You do not take that kind of tone with me. Calm yourself. This is not the end of the world."</p><p>"... Well, it kinda is for me." Player grumbles to himself in a whisper.</p><p>"What was that?" Baldi asked with a raised eyebrow. Everyone knows Baldi has fantastic hearing. There is no way that teacher did not hear him. Maybe it is a warning of some sort.</p><p>"N-Nothing." Player stammers.</p><p>Baldi sighs, lays his face in his hand, then glances back at the stubborn student. "Player, I am only here to help you. We all are here to help you. I want you to know that because it seems like you feel like you're trapped; like you're being picked out and criticized the most. That is not the case. We are wanting you to graduate. If you're not willing to do that, then that's when we step in at all times. Do you understand?"</p><p>"Yes, Mr. Baldi." Player mutters. He still doesn't want to be in the classroom.</p><p>"Good." Baldi turns around and begins to write simple word problems down instead. He knows that Player won't be stumped by those. For sure.</p><p>Surprisingly, the word problems are just as corrupted as the regular number problems. Player wants to flip his desk in pure rage, but he knows that would land him straight over Baldi's lap. One part of his mind snaps that it doesn't care what happens to him as long as he flees out of there and won't attempt to finish the rest of his schoolwork. The other half screams that it doesn't want Player to be spanked, even if the unruly boy partially deserves it at this point.</p><p>The thoughts swirling his mind finally take a toll on him. He shouts shrilly with annoyance and anger as he stands up and slams his fists on his desk. Baldi jumps with shock as he drops the chalk on the floor. The teacher's widened eyes never leave the frustrated boy. "I'M DONE! I'M DONE WITH ALL OF THIS! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Player breathes hard as Baldi gives him the fiercest glare he's ever seen before. Player doesn't care anymore. "I'm gonna go home, Mr. Baldi. It's hopeless! I can't do anything right!"</p><p>"No, Player. You're not going to. It is not allowed."</p><p>"<em>Try</em><em> me</em>." Player challenges as he flips around and rushes out of the classroom. Cloudy Copter is whining the loudest he's ever had.</p><p>Baldi couldn't believe what is transpiring. That boy is a silent kid. What has made him like this? Baldi does realize that he has to step up. Player is not taking things seriously anymore. The boy is giving up everything foolishly. He cannot allow that to happen any longer.</p><p>Before he can leave the classroom, ruler and other items forgotten on his desk, Mrs. Pomp enters in the same room looking very worried and confused.</p><p>"What is going on here, Baldi? Did you do something wrong? Or is it him?"</p><p>"It's Player. Never have I seen him act like such a brat before." Baldi paces back and forth.</p><p>"Hm, strange. He was fine with me." Mrs. Pomp mutters.</p><p>"That's because you've never physically disciplined him before." Baldi rolls his eyes. He has no time for her curiosity. "You've tried to avoid doing that to Arts and Player."</p><p>"You do the same with Arts and Playtime." Mrs. Pomp points out.</p><p>Baldi sighs. "I know. I have also started to get soft with Player too. It seems that it is not such a great idea."</p><p>"Has he gone too far?"</p><p>"Definitely." The Maths teacher nods. "I'm going to have to get to the bottom of this."</p><p>"Indeed." Mrs. Pomp smirks a little at his pun.</p><p>Baldi rolls his eyes once more. "Seriously?"</p><p>"Sorry, sorry." She raises her hands up as if defending herself.</p><p>"Alright, Mrs. Pomp." Baldi groans. "Wish me and Player luck. This is going to be rough for the both of us."</p><p>"Yes. I hope neither of you go too far. I'm going to have to leave now. Unless you need my help in punishing Player? I'm more than willing to do so if-"</p><p>"No, no." Baldi assures. "I'll be fine on my own. I've got Principal on my side, anyways. You need your rest."</p><p>"You do too, Baldi." She sighs.</p><p>"I know, but this is necessary for him."</p><p>"Goodbye, Baldi."</p><p>"Bye, Mrs. Pomp."</p><p>She leaves. Baldi remains in the classroom for a couple more minutes, then is strong enough to go through with Player's upcoming punishment.</p><p>*****</p><p>Player runs through the halls, never feeling so much adrenaline and anger in his life. He is so sick of failing all the time. So sick of it. He fully doesn't want to spanked. The more he runs away from his problems, the more he wakes up and knows how much he deserves what Baldi will dish out to him. Whether it be pleasant or not, he is not willing to face it.</p><p>Player finds a random full can of soda on the floor. He takes it. Running and running. The halls seem endless. For some strange reason, he cannot seem to find the exit as easily as he usually does. Player is about to throw another fit until someone shouts out to him in an authoritative tone. "Hey! Stop where you are! No running in the halls!" Of course it's Principal. "You know the rules, Player!"</p><p>Player keeps on running, thinking Principal will never catch him. Lo and behold, he does. That man can always catch anyone. Player struggles in his grasp like there's no tomorrow.</p><p>"Player!" Principal is exasperated. "What is going on with you, boy?" They finally make it to the office.</p><p>Once Principal sits the naughty child down on a seat, Player slumps and gives up as he cries facedown on the desk.</p><p>Principal sits beside him instead of across. "Player? What is the meaning of this ridiculousness? Did any of us do something wrong today?"</p><p>"<em>Nooo.</em>" Player pouts and whines. "I just don't want to be a burden anymore. I just want to graduate and move on so none of you guys will have to deal with me any longer." The boy sniffs.</p><p>"Player." Principal is surprised. Never has he heard Player say that about himself before.</p><p>"Please." Player's voice is watery. "Just let me go home. I want to be away from this for a while. I-I don't want to face Mr. Baldi."</p><p>Principal's face darkens. "What did you do?"</p><p>Before Player can answer, Baldi slams open the door. Once he sees Player, he advances towards him with a calm and determined gleam in his black eyes.</p><p>"Wait, wait." Principal stops Baldi from inching closer. "What did he do?"</p><p>"He threw a temper tantrum, is unwilling to finish his old work, and is trying to escape from his problems. I will not tolerate this any longer." Baldi explains. He is certainly not as angry like he was earlier, luckily. He has had enough time to calm himself while trying to find Player.</p><p>Principal nods with understanding. "Alright. You can deal with him as you see fit." The man leaves the office without looking back.</p><p>"No, Principal!" Player cries out. "Dont leave me!"</p><p>"Well." Baldi pulls up his sleeves. "Now where were we?"</p><p>"N-No." Player stand up from his chair and backs away. "I-I won't let you sp- hit me. I don't want this." He shakes his head profusely.</p><p>"It's not a matter of what you want. It's what you need is what counts. Come here."</p><p>"No!" Player spills the soda at Baldi in a fit of panic and anger. For once, the adrenaline goes away and now it's replaced with fear and dread. Baldi wipes the soda off of him slowly. Both of them are as shocked as the other. Player is so shocked that Baldi is finally able to grab him and get on with what needs to be done. The disappointed Maths teacher pulls Player over his lap and keeps his long leg over Player's swinging legs.</p><p>The first smack startles the almost crying boy. "Hopefully, this will be a wake up call to get you back on track to where you need to be."</p><p>"Ow!" Player sobs. "Mr. B-Baldi!"</p><p>"Na-ah. You did this to yourself for such a long while. It's about time you face your consequences properly. You will only receive 19 more swats after this. Cry as much as you need, but if you try to punch and kick me, or escape, then I will have to spank you bare." Player whimpers at that. "Do you understand?"</p><p>"Y-Yes, Mr. Baldi." Player wipes at his eyes, trying and failing to keep all the tears in.</p><p>Baldi continues on the spanking. Player sobs the hardest he's ever had. Legs trapped, pride torn, the boy suffers through his punishment he should've received earlier. Better late than never as they all say. Smacks rain down without mercy. The boy begins his open, guttural cries of regret and pain as Baldi begins to finish up. Limp and given up, the boy allows Baldi to spank him without a single complaint.</p><p>After what seems like hours, Baldi stops the assault on Player's poor bottom. The teacher sits the boy up and hugs him.</p><p>"Have you learned your lesson?" Baldi lets go of him. The man holds Player's face in his hands so their gaze will not avert from each other.</p><p>"Y-Yes, Mr. Baldi." Player rubs the tears out of his eyes and sniffs miserably.</p><p>"Will you be finishing your work on time?"</p><p>"Yes, I promise." Player gasps. "I swear to you I will."</p><p>Baldi tousles the boy's hair. "Alright. You should get on back home before..."</p><p>"Before what?" Player asks.</p><p>"I just remembered. Is your mom not home that often?"</p><p>"Yeah." Player mumbles. "I kind of don't want to go home. She may get angry at me."</p><p>"With how you acted today, then-"</p><p>"N-No!" Player exclaimed. "Never mind."</p><p>"... Okay? Just make sure you get home safely."</p><p>"Yes, Mr. Baldi." Player hugs Baldi once more in a tantalizingly slow manner. Eventually, he lets go and leaves the schoolhouse, backpack and all.</p><p>Baldi looks at the closed door with worry and suspicion for what Player said.</p>
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